This invention relates generally to an apparatus for evaporating a liquid in a gas stream.
Various types of evaporative devices, for example humidifiers and cooling towers, are known which evaporate a liquid such as water in a gas stream such as air. In one type of evaporative device nozzles are employed to spray water into an air stream where the water is evaporated. In another type of device, water is sprayed onto a porous material through which air is blown to evaporate the water. A disadvantage of these devices is that the nozzles and/or porous material tend to clog with impurities from the water. When clogged, water does not readily pass through the nozzles and air does not readily pass through the porous material. Thus, the nozzles and porous material lose their effectiveness and must be serviced frequently to clean or replace the clogged elements. This servicing increases the operating cost of the devices and also increases "down time" when the devices are not operating.